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Queen Elizabeth, Sports Fan

Much attention is being given to Queen Elizabeth’s presence – here, there and everywhere – at the London Olympics. And, of course, her appearance at Byrd Stadium in 1956, at a Maryland-North Carolina football game, is well remembered locally.

The latter wasn’t the first football game she attended, though. In 1951, when she was still a princess, she visited Canada and took in a CFL playoff game in Edmonton between the Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Blue Bombers. The home team won 4-1. (Yes, 4-1 – a field goal and two rouges. The field goal, by the way, was kicked by the famed Annis Stukus, who didn’t wear a helmet or any padding.)

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Anyway, two years later – little known fact – Darrell Royal became the Edmonton coach (before going on to greater glory with the Texas Longhorns). Royal once told me this story about the Princess/Queen:

“When I went up there to coach they didn’t have an office in the stadium for me. But they’d built a special restroom for [Princess Elizabeth] to use during the game. So we just converted her restroom into my office.”

Question of the Day

Should NFL players be fired for 'taking a knee' during anthem?

About the Author

Dan Daly has been writing about sports for the Washington Times since 1982. He has won numerous national and local awards, appears regularly in NFL Films’ historical features and is the co-author of “The Pro Football Chronicle,” a decade-by-decade history of the game. Follow Dan on Twitter at @dandalyonsports –- or e-mail him at ddaly@washingtontimes.com.